For Georgia Tech, it has been
a tale of three seasons. The first third was uneven at best with the
Jackets losing to teams they were favored to beat with a lot of
turnovers and blown leads late in the games. At UCF, they had a
38-28 lead with 14:15 remaining in the game only to see the Bulls
score 21 unanswered points and win 49-38. At Pittsburgh, it was just
the opposite, a sluggish start and the Jackets were behind 21-0.
They surged back to pull to within five but ran out of time losing
24-19.
A 49-21 trouncing by Clemson put them at a dismal 1-3 start.. Then
signs of life. A pair of 62-17 and 66-31 blowouts over Bowling Green
and Louisville gave them hope. But a close game with Duke got of
reach quickly with three quick turnovers giving them a 28-14 loss to
Duke.
And just when all was looking lost, Tech went on the road with a
pair of impressive conference wins at Virginia Tech and North
Carolina.
Suddenly, there is light at the end of the tunnel. winning five of
their last six.
Georgia Tech began their Saturday night prime time ESPN2 game
knowing that Pitt had just demolished Virginia Tech, eliminating any
chance of sneaking into an ACC Coastal Division Championship. But,
still a lot to play for with a sixth season win giving them bowl eligibility.
The Hurricanes have struggled lately losing three straight entering
the game.
Despite the 42 degree temperatures, it was a nice sized crowd...but
a lot of orange was visible in this White Out game.
Miami won the toss and jumped out quickly with a 23 yard catch by Jeff
Thomas. He got 19 more to the 31. Lawrence Cager for 14
yards to the 17. Then 14 more to the 17. DeeJay Dallas ran
for 8 and a first and goal at the five, taking it in for a quick 7-0
lead. The drive went 11 plays and 75 yards in 5:28.
.Tech came right back, though to tie it at seven capped by a 28 yard
Taquon Marshall touchdown run. Interestingly, that drive also went
11 plays and 75 yards, using just a bit more in 6:15.
The second Hurricane drive never happened because was fumbled by Dallas
at the 26 and scooped up by Dameon Williams who returned it
to the 23. Mark Richt did not look happy on the sidelines.
Marshall quickly got half the distance with a 13 yard scramble for a
first and goal at the 10. Marshal veered to his left and saw no one
in his way for a 14-7 lead.
Before the second quarter, former Tech great Calvin Johnson was
given a plaque commemorating his induction into the College Football
Hall of Fame.
The Canes and Jackets were both stopped on their next drives.
Miami had another turnover when QB N'Kosi Perry fumbled the snap
recovered by Charlie Thomas at the 39. A 38 yard Wesley Wells
field goal extended the lead to 17-7.
The next drive was typical of the problems Richt's team had in this game.
Thomas gave his team great field position with a kickoff return to
the GT43 Then, the Hurricanes began going in reverse. A false
start made it second and 15 at the 48. A 19 yard catch by Jordan was
nullified by an illegal block below the waste call. Perry rushed for
a three yard loss. Third and 32 on their 35. Richt took a time out
at 2:26 left in the half. They could only get it out to the 46. But,
finally, some luck as a line drive punt bounced off the back of a
Yellow Jacket and was recovered at the GT30. Cam'ron Davis took 22 yards to pull the Hurricanes to within 3,
17-14.
But, more self inflicted wounds began the third quarter as Thomas
fumbled, recovered by Tech's Juanyeh Thomas at the UM10. They
settled for another Wells field goal to make it 20-14.
Miami had a three and out Jerry Howard dominated the Tech
drive with four runs totaling 21 yards capped by a surprising 31
yards TD catch by Brad Stewart. That put the Jackets up
27-14.
Again, the Hurricane offense couldn't get much going, only making it to
midfield.
Into the fourth quarter, Tech also had to punt, downing it on the five.
But, this time, Miami mounted an impressive 15 play 95 yard drive to
pull to within six, 27-21.
But, Tech proceeded to do what they do best, keep the ball and eat clock.
The Canes never got the ball back as the Jackets kept it for the
final 6:43 running 12 plays to seal the big win. That stat was in
evidence with time of possession 34:45 to 25:08 in Tech's favor.
Georgia Tech outran Miami 231 to 134.
The biggest factor in the victory was in turnovers. Georgia Tech had a
season-high-tying three takeaways, giving them 23 for the season.
Coming into Saturday's game, the Yellow Jackets were tied for eighth
nationally with 20 turnovers gained.
"Georgia Tech did what they had to do to win the game," said Richt.
"Congratulations to them and Paul. I thought our guys fought their
tails off. It certainly was a game that was marred by some turnovers
that hurt us, obviously."
"It wasn't always pretty but we made fewer mistakes then they did
and we were able to capitalize on a couple of their mistakes and
come out on top," said coach Johnson.